Battle for the heart of Syria: inside Aleppo

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A Syrian man playfully pulls the mustache of another, as they wait in line to buy bread from a rebel delivery after three months of intense government fighting against rebels of the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo, Syria, October 23, 2012. In this critical battleground of Syria's 20-month uprising, FSA commanders say they control more than half of Syria's second city and commercial hub. Scott Peterson/The Christian Science Monitor/Getty Images

A Syrian government building with snipers is seen through rebel sandbags, after three months of intense fighting against rebels of the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo, Syria, October 23, 2012. The uprising against the government of President Bashar al-Assad has claimed an estimated 34,000 lives. Scott Peterson/The Christian Science Monitor/Getty Images

A Syrian rebel mans a frontline post as Syrians come to terms with massive destruction from government air and artillery bombardment and a rising death toll after three months of intense fighting against rebels of the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo, Syria, October 23, 2012. Scott Peterson/The Christian Science Monitor/Getty Images

Syrians walk past a destroyed vehicle as they come to terms with massive destruction from government air and artillery bombardment and a rising death toll after three months of intense fighting against rebels of the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo, Syria, October 23, 2012. Scott Peterson/The Christian Science Monitor/Getty Images

A Syrian man visits his wrecked apartment in the Al Shaar district, as the intense human and material cost grows from three months of intense fighting against rebels of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in Aleppo, Syria, on October 24, 2012. Scott Peterson/The Christian Science Monitor/Getty Images

Syrians wait in line to buy bread from a rebel delivery after three months of intense government fighting against rebels of the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo, Syria, October 23, 2012. FSA commanders say they control more than half of Syria's second city and commercial hub, though civilian areas and especially long bread lines have been targeted daily. Scott Peterson/The Christian Science Monitor/Getty Images

A Syrian rebel runs across a sniper lane 25 meters from government snipers after three months of intense fighting against rebels of the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo, Syria, October 23, 2012. Scott Peterson/The Christian Science Monitor/Getty Images

A Syrian rebel with an Islamic headband and bayonet holds his rifle at a frontline post 25 meters from government snipers after three months of intense fighting against rebels of the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo, Syria, October 23, 2012. Scott Peterson/The Christian Science Monitor/Getty Images

A smiling boy gestures beside a rebel gunman as Syrians come to terms with massive destruction from government air and artillery bombardment and a rising death toll after three months of intense fighting against rebels of the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo, Syria, October 23, 2012. Scott Peterson/The Christian Science Monitor/Getty Images

Syrian singer Ahmad Habush of the Al Kindi group show a photo of a 2011 concert in New York in his home damaged by air and artillery bombardment and a rising death toll after three months of intense fighting against rebels of the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo, Syria, October 23, 2012. Scott Peterson/The Christian Science Monitor/Getty Images

Two Syrian men (r.) pose with a rebel fighter after three months of intense fighting against rebels of the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo, Syria, October 23, 2012. Scott Peterson/The Christian Science Monitor/Getty Images

Syrian rebels man a frontline post 25 meters from government snipers after three months of intense fighting against rebels of the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo, Syria, October 23, 2012. Scott Peterson/The Christian Science Monitor/Getty Images

A rebel aims his gun on the first day of a Syrian government offensive against rebels of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in the rebel-held district of Salahudin in Aleppo, Syria, on July 28, 2012. Aleppo has become a critical battleground in the 17-month uprising against the government of President Bashar al-Assad, which has claimed an estimated 17,000 lives. Scott Peterson/The Christian Science Monitor/Getty Images

Rebel forces load rocket-propelled grenade rounds on the first day of a Syrian government military offensive against rebels of the Free Syrian Army in the rebel-held district of Salahudin in Aleppo, Syria, on July 28, 2012. Syrian security forces have reinforced their presence in Aleppo with 80 tanks and rebels have brought in hundreds of fighters from villages in northern Syria in preparation for the showdown in Syria's second city and commercial hub. Scott Peterson/The Christian Science Monitor/Getty Images

A rebel peers through binoculars on the first day of a Syrian government military offensive against rebels of the Free Syrian Army, in Aleppo, Syria, on July 28, 2012. Scott Peterson/The Christian Science Monitor/Getty Images

A family flees from intense shelling on the first day of a Syrian government military offensive against rebels of the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo, Syria, on July 28, 2012. Scott Peterson/The Christian Science Monitor/Getty Images

A rebel officer peers through binoculars on the first day of a Syrian government military offensive against rebels of the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo, Syria, on July 28, 2012. Scott Peterson/The Christian Science Monitor/Getty Images

A Syrian rebel stands guard as casualties mount from intense shelling on the first day of a Syrian government military offensive against rebels of the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo, Syria, on July 28, 2012. Scott Peterson/The Christian Science Monitor/Getty Images

Three Syrian rebels stand guard at a makeshift field hospital as casualties mount from intense shelling on the first day of a Syrian government military offensive against rebels of the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo, Syria, on July 28, 2012. Scott Peterson/The Christian Science Monitor/Getty Images

Syrian rebel fighters man a checkpoint on the first day of a Syrian government military offensive against rebels of the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo, Syria, on July 28, 2012. Scott Peterson/The Christian Science Monitor/Getty Images

A Syrian rebel watches from a doorway on the first day of a Syrian government military offensive against rebels of the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo, Syria, on July 28, 2012. Scott Peterson/The Christian Science Monitor/Getty Images

Civilians race to cross a street as casualties mount from intense shelling on the first day of a Syrian government military offensive against the rebel Free Syrian Army in Aleppo, Syria, on July 28, 2012. Scott Peterson/The Christian Science Monitor/Getty Images

A Syrian rebel watches a government helicopter flying overhead on the first day of a Syrian government military offensive against rebels of the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo, Syria, on July 28, 2012. Scott Peterson/The Christian Science Monitor/Getty Images

A Syrian government helicopter flies overhead on the first day of a Syrian government military offensive against rebels of the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo, Syria, on July 28, 2012. Scott Peterson/The Christian Science Monitor/Getty Images

Syrian rebel ammunition boxes with rocket-propelled grenade rounds, launchers and sacks of AK-47 bullets line a makeshift storeroom on the first day of a Syrian government military offensive against rebels of the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo, Syria, on July 28, 2012. Scott Peterson/The Christian Science Monitor/Getty Images

Rebels sit in a doorway on the first day of a Syrian government military offensive against rebels of the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo, Syria, on July 28, 2012. Scott Peterson/The Christian Science Monitor/Getty Images